EurAsia Cup: Rival factions compete behind the scenes

This week's intercontinental clash for the EurAsia Cup is a match that will be won both on and off the golf course.

The build-up to the event has been overshadowed by a rancorous dispute involving one of the best-loved names in the game, with the European and Asian Tours pitted against the family of
the late Seve Ballesteros.

The row has developed because the EurAsia Cup effectively usurps the
Royal Trophy,
a team contest between Asia and Europe played since 2006 that was Ballesteros's brainchild and run by his company.

In its early years, the Royal Trophy was accorded approved status by the European Tour but business relations between the Wentworth-based circuit and the Ballesteros family firm, Amen Corner, have significantly deteriorated since then.

Seve Ballesteros, who died in 2011, was responsible for both the Royal Trophy and the Seve Trophy

The European Tour, meanwhile, recognises the importance of strengthening its links in the Far East - and accordingly knows the potential of a match such as the one that will be played in Kuala Lumpar this week.

Asia remains the great golfing battleground for those looking to exploit areas of growth. Two native circuits, the Asian Tour and the One Asia Tour, compete ferociously to stage top professional events.

The European Tour has long since had a foothold in the continent while the PGA Tour has been stretching east from the United States.

“I sincerely hope that the Asian Tour will be willing to join us in the Royal Trophy on mutually acceptable terms but will not be intending to copy it”

Seve Ballesteros in a letter of 2010

Amen Corner's foothold was the Royal Trophy, but tucked away in the calendar and always played in Asia it struggled for resonance. The potential of the match was never fully exploited.

The same cannot be said of the Ballesteros name. The memory of the five-time major champion has been repeatedly invoked during the run-up to the EurAsia Cup and European Tour boss George O'Grady prompted fury when he claimed Ballesteros would have "cherished" the new contest.

The remarks led to the release of a copy of a letter from the Spaniard to the Asian Tour that was sent in 2010, a year before his death from brain cancer.

"The Royal Trophy is an event which has a very special place in my heart," wrote Ballesteros. "It is a legacy of mine that I passionately desire to leave for future generations.

"We have been informed by the European Tour that the Asian Tour is interested in developing an event in this very same format.

"I sincerely hope that the news I have received is a misunderstanding and that the Asian Tour will be willing to join us in the Royal Trophy on mutually acceptable terms but will not be intending to copy it.

"This would certainly not meet the standards of morality and fairness which are the trademark of our sport."

These are powerful and emotive sentiments coming from such a beloved golfing figure, but there is a bigger picture.

In the harsh world of golfing business, the European and Asian Tours feel better placed to exploit such a potentially important match.

Graeme McDowell has said there is only room for one Europe v Asia team event in the calendar

So this week Miguel Angel Jimenez leads his 10-strong Euros against an Asian team skippered by Thailand's Thongchai Jaidee at the Glenmarie Golf and Country Club.

Of those involved this week, Jaidee and compatriot Kiradech Aphibarnrat both
played in the last Royal Trophy,
as did Stephen Gallacher and Thorbjorn Olesen for the Europeans.

It is certainly in the interests of both continents that the event proves a success but it is curious that it is being launched in a
Ryder Cup
year.

The plan is that it becomes a biennial match in non-Ryder Cup seasons and should become Europe's equivalent of the
Presidents Cup
- the fixture between the United States and a Rest of the World team, minus Europe.

As a team competition, there is a gap in the market following the apparent demise of another Amen Corner project, still more closely associated with Ballesteros, the
Seve Trophy,
which pitted continental Europe against Great Britain and Ireland.

Another crucial difference between the EurAsia Cup and the Royal Trophy is that it is proposed that it become a home-and-away match like the Ryder Cup. That way it stands a chance of being noticed in Europe.

More immediately it is an opportunity for the likes of Jamie Donaldson, Victor Dubuisson and Joost Luiten to represent their continent ahead of likely Ryder Cup debuts in September.

Europe's captain at Gleneagles, Paul McGinley, will be on hand while one of his deputies Des Smyth will serve as vice-captain to Jimenez.

On and off the course there is no doubt this can serve as a golfing week of some significance. That is why it has generated such strong feelings among the rival factions in the background.

The Royal Trophy went into intensive care when it was postponed for a year after the death of a member of the country's royal family. A year's mourning? You could hear the gears in the European PGA's collective brains grinding into motion. Home and away will help the Eurasia Cup; Amen Corner now has a choice: merge with it or see it fade away.

This is another non event for the European Tour which if you look at the schedule is really struggling with fewer and fewer events in Europe. With events such as this and the Final Series it's turning more and more into an exhibition circuit which benefits only the top players and their managers.

have eurasia the same week as the pres cup vs asian tour members who aren't in that. this is obviously a convenient time for the top pros as the us always have a strong team. seve trophy could be used as exp. for non rc euros. for example have a pts system where top 12 play eurasia & use rankings to pick teams for seve trophy (with 10 players whove never played rc and 2 who have for each team)

Change is often painful especially when a wonderful and popular golfer like Seve is invoked. The European Tour shoud honour him in a different and more viable way by naming a strokeplay tournament after him, perhaps working with Amen Corner. He needs to be recognised as the major reason for the European Tour's early success but sadly that is no longer best done via the Royal or Seve Trophy.

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